The trouble with not regulating is what we currently have, unfettered data collection and retention. There obviously need to be rules around all the digital gold these companies are amassing.

The Chinese and Theresa May want what currently the tech giants have which is unregulated access to data. Except instead of it being in the current sandboxes they want to build their own.

Both are equally incorrect and stem from unregulated data access and lack of rules around data aggregation and the ecosystems that the data props up.

A simple workaround is to regulate the collection, storage and use of personally identifiable information.

There's nothing especially horrifying about Facebook not being allowed to use demographic profile information to target advertising.

Talking about the great firewall, didn't Bono of all people praise it as a demonstration that filtering the net was possible? His statement was in the context of unlicensed copying (aka piracy).

And frankly if they want to deal with the rise of nationalism, they need to have a long hard look at the financial market and their destructive behavior.

What is needed is for the big finance houses to fall, and for the Euro zone to drop the whole austerity insanity.

Until then the left have no proper counterpoint to the rising nationalism, as said nationalism is largely feeding off anti-austerity, and thus anti-EU, opinions.